RSU 29 has been faced with many challenges over the past couple of years and over the next few months we will be sharing with you many things that we want to make sure the community is aware of. The primary responsibility of the school board is our students and their development.
Most of the time we concern ourselves on gauging what students have learned and how well they know their content; we compare their progress to students within the district and compare it to other students around the state.
While knowledge is important, as a board we also worry about those things students need to learn that aren’t contained in a textbook; things like patience, persistence, respect, empathy, and manners. It’s one thing to talk about these “habits of mind” in the classroom; it’s an entirely different thing to know if we are developing a well-rounded student. How do you observe and grade such characteristics?
I had the pleasure of attending an assembly at Houlton Middle/High School last Thursday where the guest speaker was Max Slobotsky, an 84-year-old Holocaust survivor who at the age of 12 found himself fighting for his life at Auschwitz, the most notorious concentration camp in Germany.
Max was invited to Houlton by the student council and their advisor Tim Tweedie as part of a speaker series. Max spoke to all students from grades 6 through 12 in a packed auditorium of about 600 people for over 45 minutes. As a native French speaker Max spoke with a strong accent and explained how he was separated from his family, captured, imprisoned, starved, tortured and later liberated. I watched the group of students as they sat quietly in the packed auditorium wondering what they were thinking and, if they were engaged with the content. Not only did all of the students provide Max with their undivided attention, they also asked wonderful questions and interacted with Mr. Slobotsky for about 15 minutes after his presentation. The energy in the room was palatable, but at all times the students’ behavior was outstanding. Here was a group of students in full control of their behavior and displaying every characteristic a parent and community could hope for.
The students rose to their feet at the end of lecture and gave Mr. Slobotsky a standing ovation – a fitting end for an incredible man and impressive display of our student body. I was moved as much by their gesture of appreciation as I was by his story.
To our teachers, parents, and administrators – thank you! It is clear that not only do you exceed state standards in the content of what our students learn but also the habits of mind that make our learners exceptional.
